at Sonoma Mountain Zen Center

During the three-month Summer Training Period, I lived in this very tiny cabin at the bottom of the hill near the river. The main building, dining hall, and Zendo are about 1/4 mile up the hill. There is no water or electricity, so I carried jugs of water for drinking and washing. Toilets are outdoors and also up the hill. I kept an ice cream bucket outside for a night time potty. There is a solar shower; the water is icy cold until about 10 in the morning when the sun comes round the mountain to warm the reservoir ... and then again in late afternoon about 4 or 5 when the sun disappears again.

Pema Chodron had been here for a month on a private and personal retreat just before I arrived. She lived in another larger cabin and took her meals in her room.














My favorite work assignment was cooking. Adam and I are preparing lunch for about 30 ... behind is the dining hall where there is a tea and coffee bar. Outside the kitchen door is a gong that we strike with a wooden mallet to announce that meals are ready.

Each day begins with meditation ... it's very early, so I usually came here first for a good jolt of caffeine. Only tea is served at meals, but the coffee bar is always available to use during our spare time. After meditation, we walked down the hill to practice Chi Kung by the river. After breakfast we met outside, forming a circle to sing that old Cat Stevens song - "morning has broken, like the first morning" - to hear any announcements for the day and to receive our work assignments.